Lavender farmer Dana Illo and her partner Catherine Johnson will infect you with enthusiasm. They’ve turned their initial response to resource declines from “it’s horrible and overwhelming” into “we can create new ways of doing.” Dana is bringing Dragon Dreaming to her community. This organizing model starts by having a group totally buy into a specific dream, like being locally food self-sufficient. Then in every cycle of implementation, members Dream, Plan, Do and — just as importantly — Celebrate! Why not have fun while we build community and security? Episode 165.
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Five minutes left in the show…and I think I understand Rob’s reference to a tear or two. This reminds me, once again, that all of us have the potential to (even profoundly) affect the thinking of others – perhaps without ever even knowing that this has been so. What a legacy, in the form of a material item (yet having greater significance) Catherine’s mother wishes to leave her daughter(s). An aside: so grateful to staff and students at Bastyr Natural Health Clinic for their dedicated and compassionate care. Dana and Catherine are a lovely couple in their warmth of heart and the work they do that is reflective of this. With thanks:)
I guess we need a follow-up on how successful their planning process was: have they started a co-op? Are they more food independent? I know moving from thought to action is often difficult. Sometimes just the thought phase is enough to get people bogged down and they never get to the action phase. If “dragon dreaming” really works, great! I’ll try it, too. Let’s just make sure the celebrating is the last step in the process!
Sure, the younger generations that are attending to peak everything and adjusting their lives to the impending new paradigm should be commended. After all, it’s the baby boomer generation that created most of the mess. Include me in this. Whipping oneself into a lather over it is not really adding to the effort that we should all be making. Which is to try and fix things and prepare for the transition. The heart on sleeve emotion and mystical allusions are like “re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” and just divert us from the real task. In this way it is similar to the second part of interview 148.
As I wrote earlier in this thread, “any tradey, farmer, engineer, craftsperson could tell you that”, meaning that anyone that doesn’t enjoy their work is in the wrong job or going about it in a less than positive way. Of couse it is better to “celebrate” if you want to use that word. We may have a differing definition of it. Making it the central theme of everything we do just may not be applicable at times and not what we should be doing to get the best result.
If it’s one thing that the suits critisise the alternative movement for, it’s airheaded fantasies that have little to do with reality.
If we are going to have any hope of bringing about change in a bankster dominated world, to be taken seriously we will need thave political clout with a sense of purpose and not be diverted by indulging in communal sob-athons.
I agree with you regarding Janaia and Robin’s celebrating of individual efforts to bring about change. They are beacons in the darkness. However the celebrating or endorsing of some individuals may just have a negative effect.
I enjoyed this episode immensely! In fact, I was brushing away a tear or two at the end.
The previous commenter stated, “a lot of words said but not much information.” I disagree. The words convey the information of celebration.
You and your interviewees are celebrating their and their local community’s achievements. True, in doing so they were not planning nor were they “doing.” They (and you) were engaged in the forgotten completion to the planning and doing. This episode provided the response to these actions: “the celebration.” In fact as your interviewees state, the celebration is often what is missing in the typical organization’s operations.
You and Robin do a great job of celebrating individual efforts to respond and interact to peak moment issues. We need more celebration of positive responses to this oftentimes very bleak topic.
I thank you both for being such a frequent celebrant of the individual efforts of so many folks who care to stand up and find a different way to face this challenging issue.
For what it is worth, I celebrate your efforts!
I’m sorry Janaia, this one takes the cake. Interviews like this only reduce the credibility of the Peak Moment organisation Another case of a lot of words said but not much information. Dana relying on having her stars read to guide her actions puts this interview off with the fairies. The organisational model mentioned is prep grade (not even organisation 101) level. Adding “celebrating” to ithe process with vacant smiling expression is just more “off with the fairies”. Of course, enjoying yourself while involved in a project is preferable to not doing so. Any tradey, farmer, engineer, craftsperson could tell you that. Dragon breathing? Really…?
I’m lost for words.